While many of us believe that brushing our teeth for two minutes twice a day is the perfect way to maintain oral hygiene, a dentist has burst all the myths and shared three common dental habits that could ruin your teeth.
Dr Surina Sehgal, a dentist who has over 100,000 followers on TikTok, recently shared three common mistakes most of us are guilty of that could be turning those pearly whites yellow.
She said: “Don’t use a manual toothbrush. It’s so common to over-scrub and brush too hard.
“This aggressive brushing will actually wear down the nice white enamel layer and expose that yellow dentine layer underneath.”
Dr Surina also advised her viewers to avoid snacking, explaining that every time we consume food our mouth goes into an “acidic state”.
She added: “The more times you eat in a day, the more your teeth are under acid attack.
“This can erode your white enamel layer and expose that yellow dentine layer underneath.”
Lastly, the dentist recommended always drinking fizzy drinks through a straw due to their high acidity.
She explained: “If you use a straw, you limit the contact between your teeth and the drink and will cause less enamel erosion.”
Several social media users were left flabbergasted by the advice as they raised their doubts in the comments section of the video, which has been liked by over 170,000 people.
One person wrote: “I thought fluoride was harmful for your health.”
A second user commented: “Is there any study whether there is a side effect to not rinsing after brushing? Is there any side effect to swallowing too much fluoride?.”
